China: Worst Drought in Living Memory

中國：記憶以來最嚴重的旱災



本新聞影音出處：新唐人電視台英語新聞

//english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_china/2010-03-23/874807002966.html

【新聞關鍵字】

1. crops : n. 農作物

2. inaccessible: adj.難取得的

3. grapple : vi.搏鬥

4. devastating : adj.重創的

5. struggle : vi.掙扎

6. cope with : ph.對付

Crops are failing and clean drinking water is inaccessible to more than 16 million people as southwest China grapples with a devastating drought.

農作物無法收成，超過1,600萬人民無法得到乾淨的飲用水，中國西南正與重創性的旱災搏鬥著。

More than 50 million people in southwest China are struggling to cope with what is being called the worst drought in living memory.

在中國西南方，超過五千萬人正奮戰應付著被稱為記憶中最嚴重的旱災。

Here in the village of, local people are awaiting their only source of drinking water.

在這個村裡，當地居民正在等待他們唯一的飲用水來源。

【新聞關鍵字】

7. cultivate : vt. 耕種,耕作

8. plot : n.小塊土地

9. millet : n. 小米

10. shoot : n. 幼芽

11. supplement : n.補充

12. manual : a.手工的

The trucks come every other day or so, bringing only enough to supply drinking water to residents, but not enough for farmers to cultivate their fields.

運水車大約每隔一天來一次，帶來僅夠供給居民的飲用水，但對於農民農作物的耕作還是不夠的。

73 year-old farmer Zhang Zhenlong has given up on his plot of land, which used to produce good crops of millet, beans and corn.

73歲的農夫張清龍已經放棄他的那小塊用來生產小米、豆類及玉米的土地。

[Zhang Zhenlong, Farmer]:

“The last time it rained properly was last May. The crops we planted before May all failed. The crops after May produced a little. This year we don’t know what to do, it’s so dry. We have planted, but there are no shoots. Any shoots that come up just die.”

農夫張清龍說：

「上次下雨大約是在去年五月。五月以前所種植的農作物都枯死了。五月過後生產的農作物也只有一點點收成。今年我們真的不知道該怎麼辦，太乾燥了！我們有播種，但是沒有發芽。所有的幼苗剛長出來就都枯死了。」

Villagers in Pubin are faring no better.

浦濱村的狀況也沒有比較好。

With the year’s first crops failed and no rain in sight, farmers like Wang Fu have been left on their own to try their luck at the spring and summer crops.

隨著今年第一季的農作物無法收成，又不見有降雨的跡象，和王富一樣農夫只能靠運氣期待春季及夏季的農作物收成。

The drought has forced young people to leave the village to supplement their income.

乾旱迫使年輕人必須離開家鄉去增補收入。

[Wangfu, Farmer]:

“Because the drought has been so serious, young people have all gone to find manual work. There’s nothing to do in the village, so they’ve gone to make a living. Only the old people are left behind.”

農夫王富說：「因為乾旱很嚴重，年輕人全都離開去找靠手工的工作。村裡沒有事情可以做，所以他們出去求生。只有老人家留了下來。」

Some areas have received 90 percent less rainfall than usual for this time of year, and weather forecasters predict that no significant rainfall is expected for at least another 10 days.

有些地區比往常少了90%的降雨量，天氣預報員預測未來的10天裡，也沒有降雨跡象。

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(//www.dajiyuan.com)